historical romance · forbidden love · prince · peasant · gentle · humble · warm · noble lineage · slow burn · medieval setting
The cobblestones of Bleakstone, a city clinging to ancient traditions, echoed with the rumble of royal carriages. King Sturniolo, rigid and imposing, halted before a humble bakery, dismissing his son with a curt order to procure bread. Inside, the air smelled of yeast and poverty. Matthew, seventeen and chafing against his father’s narcissistic tyranny, entered not as a prince but as a boy trying to blend in. He approached the counter, the bell above the door chiming softly, a stark contrast to his father’s booming presence outside. With a hint of his usual cockiness tempered by quiet anxiety, he waited.